Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System

Screenshot of http://www.ReSAKSS.org.

The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) is a knowledge management platform offering easily data, analysis, tools and research evidence to farmers, researchers, policymakers, and development professionals is to improve awareness of the role of agriculture in poverty reduction and food and nutrition security and to facilitate the review, learning and adoption of the most useful associated with agricultural development strategies.

ReSAKSS was established to respond to the demand for credible information and analysis during the design of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) . As such, the knowledge management platform is oriented to strengthen ongoing policy dialogue at the continental, regional and national levels so as to influence the future strategic directions and to promote evidence-based decision making associated with the CAADP Agenda.

CAADP is designed to help African countries reach a higher path of economic growth. As an African-led and African-owned process, through the NEPAD, CAADP addresses policy and capacity issues across the entire agricultural sector and African continent.

CAADP aims to:

• Designate agriculture-led growth as a main strategy to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of poor and hungry people;
• Pursue a 6 percent average annual agricultural sector growth rate at the national level;
• Allocate 10 percent of national budgets to the agricultural sector;
• Use regional complements and cooperation to boost growth; and
• Promote partnerships, policy dialogue, review, and accountability to improve efficiency.

Basic Structure

1. Strategic analysis: provide data, tools and analysis for monitoring key growth and poverty-reduction priorities and assessing the impacts of interventions to address key questions, including: whether and how the interventions are having their desired impact on raising growth and reducing poverty and malnutrition; what sorts of environment enable successful implementation of agricultural policies and strategies; and which interventions can lead to better-distributed outcomes.
2. Knowledge management: Develop and maintain pool of current information on key indicators at various levels to support policy planning, analysis, and dialogue; document lessons from past and ongoing research, policy analysis, impact assessment, policy processes, and practical experiences for improving future growth and poverty reduction strategies; and facilitate access to a variety of knowledge products to support assessment, review, and benchmarking of growth and poverty-reduction strategies.
3. Capacity strengthening and policy communication: collaborate and work closely with national and regional networks of partners in carrying out the above activities and in the exchange of skills, training, and practical experiences to strengthen local capacities; and communicate through various media and interactions with policy makers on key growth and poverty-reduction issues, analysis, and emerging challenges at all levels, as well as research findings associated with the performance and impact of growth and poverty-reduction strategies.

Organization

ReSAKSS is organized around four nodes of operation: one at the continental or Africa-wide level (ReSAKSS-AW) and three at the subregional level—eastern and central Africa (ReSAKSS-ECA), southern Africa (ReSAKSS-SA), and western Africa (ReSAKSS-WA). The operations of the nodes are facilitated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Africa-based Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers in partnership with the AU-NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and a network of national and other regional and international organizations. The Africa-based CGIAR centers and the RECs include: the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) for ReSAKSS-ECA; the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for ReSAKSS-SA; and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for ReSAKSS-WA.

Technical Coordination, Governance and Funding

ReSAKSS has been established under IFPRI's program on Development Strategies on Facilitating Evidence and Outcome Based Policy Planning and Implementation in Africa . It has received funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To ensure that ReSAKSS activities remain relevant to the priorities of CAADP and to help African countries achieve greater growth and faster poverty reduction, ReSAKSS is governed by Steering Committees that are chaired by the AUC and AU-NEPAD Planning and NPCA at the Africa-wide level and by COMESA, ECOWAS and SADC for ReSAKSS-ECA, ReSAKSS-WA and ReSAKSS-SA, respectively. The Steering Committees, whose members include representatives of the different CAADP stakeholders at the respective levels, provide political and strategic guidance to ReSAKSS.

Key Outputs

Strategic Monitoring of CAADP

Based on a monitoring and evaluating framework , ReSAKSS monitors progress at all levels (continental, regional and country) toward achievement of the CAADP benchmark targets. Results are published annually in the ReSAKSS flagship Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) .

Other Strategic Analysis

Results of analysis of key growth and poverty-reduction issues in Africa are published in a "Working Paper" series and an "Issue Brief" series.

Technical Assistance to the CAADP Process

ReSAKSS is funded to provide analysis on growth and investment options as input in designing country CAADP compacts and technical reviews of the national agricultural investment plans. Also, they aim to provide technical assistance in preparing background documents for the compact signing meetings, as well as technical assistance to establish country SAKSS nodes.

Knowledge Support System

Through a network of farmers, researchers, policymakers, private and civil society groups, and development practitioners, including both state and non-state actors, ReSAKSS helps facilitate the exchange of information, tools, skills, and knowledge associated with agricultural policies and strategies. This is achieved through a variety of portals including training workshops, internet platforms, including a website and a blog, conferences, and printed media.